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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Haven't posted in a while because...

I haven't posted in several months and to be honest, I haven't missed it as much as I thought I would. Sometimes real life consumes you and relatively unimportant things, like blogging, tend to fall by the wayside. My blog tends to focus on more of my home decor and projects with a tiny bit of personal life thrown in but in these past several months, I could have focused completely on personal life with no home decor or projects thrown in at all...because I haven't completed a project or decorated anything in months.

So, while I ponder whether or not to continue blogging, I'll fill you in on all that has consumed my thoughts in the past several months. Some of it is exciting and fun and wonderful and some of it breaks my heart. Some days I'm so excited by things going on around me and other days it's hard to concentrate. Where to start? Grab a cup of coffee. It's going to be a long post.

Let's start with the exciting and least emotional. As many of you long time followers know, I'm a pediatric speech-language pathologist (SLP) in my professional life and I love it. I mentioned many months ago that I had the honor of being elected Vice President of Professional Services for my state association, the Texas Speech-Language and Hearing Association (TSHA). I've been an "elect" for the past year and officially took office this past July. It's fun and exciting and quite a bit of work at times. I'm on my computer a lot answering emails, working on projects, etc., which leaves less time for blogging. My term ends in June, 2014.

Let's move on to still exciting but with more emotion. My last post was April. After that post, I became swamped at work. In my position, I work closely with the school's psychologist. In happy news, she became pregnant for the first time. However, her impending maternity leave meant we had to work hard to get as much done as possible before she left and the end of the school year is already crazy busy. The tough part was we had no idea when she would have to go on leave. Why? She was expecting quads! It was day to day and at any time she may have to go on bed rest. She had her quads this summer and started a blog. It's a crazy fun thing to read. You can check it out at: http://fourtoadore.wordpress.com/ and you should really read her inspirational turtle story and about the poop chute.

Moving on to more emotion and still excitement but not in the way you would think. My soon to be 16 year old son had his first serious girlfriend. They were madly in love for 6 months. That meant I had to be on my toes and he needed as much supervision and boundaries as he he did when he was little. There is an extremely fine line to walk when your teenager is in love. You want them to open up to you but say one wrong thing and they won't talk at all. This first love took the same course as most and they recently broke up. Watching your teenager experience their first big heartbreak is in some ways as tough as anything else you've had to watch them go through and there's not a lot you can do to ease it for them. He's doing okay now. He's handling it well and I'm proud of him. Oh, and he's learning to drive. That's a whole 'nother story.

Now to the most emotional with absolutely no excitement. As I eagerly watch for updated posts from my friend with her new babies (those quads), I also eagerly watch for updated posts from another friend who also just became a first time mom. Her baby girl is about seven months old. Her posts are not her own right now but mostly her husband's and they are not from a blog but CaringBridge. About a month after her baby was born, my friend discovered she had liver cancer. Today, I received an update that explained how much time she has left with us. It's just overwhelming. I am friends with two first time moms about the same age experiencing unbelievable journeys for vastly different reasons. The highs and lows consume my thoughts most days. If you want to send prayers to my friend, you can read her journey at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/roxannaruizfelter.

So, why did I take time to post all of this today? Today I enter a new decade. I leave my forties behind and turn the big 50. I'm excited about it. I loved my forties and I hear that fifties are great too. Somebody could have given me a head's up that my AARP invite would come a couple of weeks before this milestone. I wasn't expecting that at all. Isn't 50 a little young to be an AARP member?
(AARP: American Association of Retired Persons). Really? I have years before I can retire and frankly I wouldn't now even if I could.

I'm in good company though. Do you know who else turned 50 this year?

Garth Brooks

Jon Bon Jovi

Sheryl Crow

Matthew Broderick, yep, Ferris is 50

Jon Stewart

Kelly Preston

Demi Moore

...and many others too numerous to post (Tom Cruise, Jodie Foster, Trace Adkins, Emilio Estevez, Axl Rose and on and on). You can google to see a full list.

Today was a good day to take some time for myself and reflect on all that is happening. There is quite a bit more but those above have been the biggest. I'm sure I'll get busy on projects or at least some holiday decorating and I'm sure I'll continue to blog. Somedays I even think about starting a second one about SLP ideas. I do enjoy it when I get time. I'm also sure I won't be posting regularly for the foreseeable future. However, I am sure I'll post more non-decor stuff as much as decor so this blog will be more well-rounded. It helps to write about all of this stuff.

Wow you do have a lot on your emotional plate. And then add turning fifty. My husband and I are turning 52 in the next few months and we cracked up with the AARP enrollment info showed up in the mail. I have to say that I have enjoyed being in my 50's. I seem to have a better prespective on life. Hopefully you will have time to blog a bit this year.Traci

Take care. I have missed your posts. I did head over to caring bridge and the Mom of four's blog. Prayers heading to your friend with cancer. I just can't imagine what that new little family is going through. The Mom and Dad of four too. Wow, how wonderful for them. We had twins first and then a third daughter. They must be soooo tired. Enjoy 50, I hated it happening, but survived.

I've thought about you over the past few months and wondered how things were going. You certainly have had a full and eventful life recently - so much to deal with. Happy birthday to you and prayers for your friend with cancer and your friend with quads.

50, AARP & waves of tragedy all caught me by surprise too. There is much about life that doesn't make sense and even less as I age. My heart goes out to your friend who fights for her life and for you as you watch. I've fought long and hard to live and even harder to find a reason to. I blog as therapy. It's not the best for my readers because I write when I'm down and I LIVE when I'm up. About retiring? Don't. Not until you absolutely dread work and can't wait to move on. Doing what you love and what gives you purpose and focus is what many of us long for.Blessings from a fellow Texan and November girl (I turned 52 on the 7th).elle

Nice to hear from you and know what has been going on in your life. I am so sorry to hear about your friend. How devastating for her family. BTW I am getting ready to turn 62 and have no intention of retiring anytime soon. I just started to live.

I'm so sorry about your friend. That's just heartbreaking. I know how those ups and downs can affect your life. Blogging doesn't seem all that important in the face of a tragedy like that. But I am glad your son is fine~that first breakup is always a doozy.